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Merkle Tree Technology

Definition

Merkle tree technology is a cryptographic data structure that efficiently verifies the integrity and consistency of large data sets. It arranges hashes of individual data blocks into a tree-like structure, where each non-leaf node contains the hash of its child nodes. A single root hash, known as the Merkle root, represents the entire data set. This allows for quick and secure verification of any data portion without needing to download the complete set. It is a foundational component of many blockchain systems.